“As we in Women’s Studies work to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power, so one who writes about having white privilege must ask, ‘Having described it what will I do to lessen or end it?’”. This is a powerful excerpt from Peggy McIntosh’s article and it is also the perfect support for my paper on white privilege in America. McIntosh describes how men are taught not to recognize the privilege they have over women. They deny that they have any advantage over women’s disadvantages and are in many cases completely blind to it. As a woman it is easy to see these disadvantages because of gender, but as a white woman do I notice the advantages I receive because of my skin color. Just as men are blind to their power over women, white Americans are blind to the power they have over other skin types. She makes a metaphor, unpacking the invisible knapsack, to describe noticing and stopping these day-to-day activities that put us at an advantage over others. She makes a list of normal activities that she didn’t realize before that she took for granted, not thinking how a person of another color may not have those same advantages.
The list is just a way of making one realize the rights that they have, that someone else of another race doesn’t. She describes how she could move freely to wherever she wanted and that she could fit in nicely and be treated fairly. Her children can be protected from those looking to arm them and they, “will be given curricular activities that testify to the existence of their race”. She isn’t asked to speak for her entire race or forced to prove herself because of it. What McIntosh is trying to tell people is that in order to distinguish between earned power and unearned power we must first realize what exactly separates us. This article gives me a great insight for my paper. I can make my own list of activities that others out of my race don’t receive. By identifying these advantages, I can work on achieving my goals through hard work and not because of the color of my skin.
McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack. White privilege and male privilege: a personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies Wellesley, MA:
McIntosh, P. (1988). White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack. White privilege and male privilege: a personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women’s studies Wellesley, MA:
I like your last sentence and how it leaves readers with a long lasting impression. If possible you can use how minorities and how some use their color as an excuse to be lazy or not rise above all challenge. There are many examples of how blacks were raised in low income homes and were surrounded by struggles but somehow still made it out and became something more than just a statistic. I believe that whites should educate themselves more on being privileged so they won’t harm other minorities that are qualified and deserve a chance then help a white man that "looks" to the standard and giving a chance. I’m really interested in how your paper comes out and see what new information comes out that makes you even question how society works.
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